Moving from Corporate Strategy to PE/VC (w/ IBD background) - Thoughts? Has anyone done this before?
Hi everyone! Does anyone have any thoughts about the likelihood / how possible it is to move from Corporate Strategy to PE (maybe VC) when I have an IB background? Has anyone made a similar move?
For some context, I recently started a role in Corporate Strategy at a high-growth, pretty well-known (at least to millennials/Gen Z) tech company and have been on the job for ~3 months. Before that, I was a first year associate in IB at a top three BB (GS, MS, JPM), having been promoted after my 2 years as an analyst. I also graduated from a top-tier undergrad target school. I didn't do the traditional path of recruiting directly into PE after starting in IB because, at the time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in IB long-term or if I wanted to do something else. I decided about 3-4 months before I left IB that I wanted to either A) move into PE/VC (more-so PE) and focus on tech investing, or B) do Corporate Strategy/Corporate Development for a tech company. I ultimately pursued Option B because my coverage in IB wasn't tech-focused, and I felt like I needed to understand the business/operations side of tech if I was to be an effective investor (if I decided that really I wanted to do investing), especially if I wanted to do VC.
I'm starting to get the feeling that Corporate Strategy might not be the long-term option for me since I do miss the deal-making and technical side of finance, so I'm starting to think about how I might start recruiting for PE/VC. Has anyone else made a similar move or know of others who have done so? Does it work the same way as traditional PE/VC recruiting that's typically conducted via headhunters and networking? What are people's thoughts about making a move like this? Right now, I'm leaning more towards PE.
You have a good chance with VC I'd say, not so much with PE imo. Not sure how common it is, but I've seen some people go Top Tier IB -> Top Tech Corp Dev/Strat -> VC. PE is a lot more rigid in recruiting from IB so your chance there is really slim I would think. With a good amount of networking, combined with your pedigree, I could see you making the move over to VC with a bit of luck.
I am also considering joining Corp Strat after my 2 year IB stint, can you share the type of work you do?
Life sciences/healthcare
Bump - were you able to make the move? Curious as I'm interested in a similar path.
Have others been able to move from a Corp Dev / Strategy role into something like Growth Equity? Currently on a similar path from IB -> Corp Strat and want to see if I could go to Growth Equity afterwards
Qui ut dolorum sed quia occaecati maiores corrupti. Eveniet non maiores quae alias autem quae. Consequatur quaerat optio libero qui eos iste mollitia. Dolor voluptas neque et cupiditate ea voluptate. Officia quis consectetur omnis beatae a aut ut rem. Nihil facilis incidunt aliquid nulla atque.
Numquam assumenda magnam dolorum. Tempora a praesentium corporis quis rerum qui quam est. Fugiat qui sit blanditiis corrupti maxime omnis. Qui facere repellendus error fuga ipsum eius voluptatibus.
Laudantium veritatis repellat natus dolores qui illo et. Quas deleniti veniam et sit vel itaque. Quia deleniti nostrum saepe asperiores culpa. Voluptatem iste tempora ducimus qui dolorem reiciendis nulla. Sequi omnis iste neque quae est fugiat libero. Esse nisi minima et ab commodi delectus laudantium.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...